U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Nov. 20 that his Chinese counterpart had not met with him during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathering, calling it “a setback for the whole region.”
Austin said Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun had chosen not to meet with the United States.
“It’s unfortunate. It affects the region because the region really wants to see us, two significant players in the region, two significant powers, talk to each other, and that reassures the entire region,” Austin said.
China has not commented on its decision not to meet with Austin.
ASEAN members the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Burma (commonly known as Myanmar), Cambodia, and Laos held security talks, which were also attended by outside countries—the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Australia….